Government fails to implement ban on use of plastic shopping bags

The federal government has failed to implement ban on use of plastic and polythene shopping bags in the city despite passage of over five months.

An anecdotal survey conducted by Business Recorder revealed that big stores (medical and grocery), shopkeepers, vendors and milk sellers are openly using plastic bags. They had started using paper bags when the ban was initially imposed in the capital on August 14, 2019.

Some customers and shopkeepers said the ban on use of plastic shopping bags was a very good decision but violation of ban continued as the people were facing difficulties in finding an alternative to plastic bags.

They said another reason for use of polythene shopping bags in different markets was lack of effective checking and monitoring by the department concerned.

They said that following the imposition of ban, staff of Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak EPA), the executing agency of Ministry of Climate Change, was conducting visits to different markets on daily basis, besides imposing heavy fines on the violators, but now they were not seen around.

They pointed out that the government needed to take strict action against the manufacturers of plastic bags instead of shopkeepers, adding the ban could easily be implemented if the supply of the plastic bags in the market was stopped.

A shopkeeper named Fahad Iqbal said the government should allow use of degradable bags as the people were facing great hardships in carrying some of edible items in paper bags.

Jameel Ahmed, a milk seller, said that following a ban on plastic bags, his sale declined significantly as most of the customers were not ready to bring their own utensils for carrying milk. "In the first two months, we faced difficulties but now plastic bags are available and the customers are quite happy," he added.

According to a senior official of Ministry of Climate Change, the inspectors of Pak-EPA are conducting visits to different markets but this is a huge task and handful of inspectors cannot enforce the ban completely. The Ministry of Climate Change was continuing creating awareness about the environmental hazards of plastic bags as awareness among public was mandatory to end plastic pollution, he said.

The official said the residents of the federal capital also needed to play their due role by refusing to take food items in plastic bags from shopkeepers.

He said that Ministry of Climate Change had also issued notices to stop manufacturing of plastic bags. Some factories had also stopped manufacturing, he added.

Following a ban on use of plastic bags, Pakistan entered the ever-growing club of countries that are taking the threat of plastic pollution seriously and became the 128th country to ban the use of plastic bags.

According to 'the Ban on (Manufacturing, Import, Sale, Purchase, Storage and Usage of) Polythene Bag Regulations, 2019,' there is a complete ban on making, buying or selling and using single-use polythene bags in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).

However, permission has been granted for use of large-sized polythene bags for dustbins and waste disposal. Under the law, the organizations wishing to use polythene flat bags will have to pay Rs 10,000 fee. While any manufacturer, importer or wholesaler found supplying polythene bags will be fined a sum ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 500,000. A shopkeeper or hawker violating the regulations will be fined Rs 10,000 for the first time. The fine may go up to Rs 50,000 for repeated violations.